Satechi ST-SX200 AirBass Active Bluetooth Speakers Review

Satechi ST-SX200 AirBass Active Bluetooth Speakers Introduction

When you were sixteen, you probably had a very clear idea of what you wanted in a car. You had weighed all the options and had determined that the most important factors were color, horsepower, loudness of radio, and the ability to take the top off. Now, if you were like me, you ended up with your parent's old car, which they made you pay for while they upgraded to something new. If you were unlucky, you got exactly what you asked for and ended up with a car that guzzled gas, smelled like smoke and/or death, and spent more time getting repaired that getting you from place to place.

The fact is, the first time you are introduced to a product, you often don't know what is important. It takes time and experience to understand that some of the "features" that they tout on the commercials are really little more than rhinestones on an ill-fitting dress. Sure, it may glitter in the light but it fits terribly, is uncomfortable, and you quickly regret the purchase.

When you first decided you might want a pair of Bluetooth speakers, you found that there were more choices than you could ever have expected. They are cropping up everywhere. They come in all shapes and sizes, with features you've never heard of and touting Bluetooth versions you're not sure your phone is compatible with. It can be overwhelming and more than a little confusing.

Some Bluetooth speakers are portable while others look like conventional speakers but with the added Bluetooth connection. They are round, square, rectangular, and every other shape you can imagine. Sometimes they are in a single box, come in two boxes with a wire connecting them, and sometimes they come in two or more boxes that can be daisy-chained wirelessly. Which is for you?

Only you can answer that but the real question that will help you is: Where will you use your new Bluetooth speaker? If the answer is on-the-go, then you need something compact and battery powered. If the answer is to create another zone of audio in your home without having to run wires to the room, then you'll want something that looks more like traditional speakers.

First Impressions

The Satechi ST-SX200 AirBass Active Bluetooth Speakers came double boxed and well packed in molded foam endcaps. The speakers were enclosed in a thin cotton bag for protection (from smudges I suppose). The speakers are fairly unremarkable black boxes with a control knob on one speaker, black grilles, and rear ports. They are fairly small though not as small as the AudioEngine 2+ speakers. They have four little rubber pads on the bottom to damp vibrations. The finish on the outside of the speakers is a glossy black and is very attractive. The corners are rounded and the fit and finish is nearly impeccable. I only say "nearly" because I have to assume someone will find a blemish someday. The review pair were pristine.

The Satechi ST-SX200 AirBass Active Bluetooth Speakers came with a power cable, a 3.5mm to stereo RCA cable, and a manual. The manual is fairly useless as I could not find some of the most basic information you might look for. It will tell you how not to electrocute yourself, not to submerge the speakers in water, and other legal warnings to remind us that people will sue companies because they can't possibly be held responsible for doing something as idiotic as taking a shower with a device that is plugged into a wall. The functioning of the single dial control and the description of the single light is well documented as are the ways to connect things to the speakers. What is not included? Which speaker is the right and which is the left.

Rubber feet and a reflection of my basketball hoop

The one with the knob is the right speaker. It says it on the back of the speaker with the amp, in case you doubt me. All you that found this review looking for this tidbit of information, please stay around so that I can tell you if you wasted your money on the Satechi ST-SX200 AirBass Active Bluetooth Speakers (spoiler alert: You didn't).

Satechi ST-SX200 Connections, Setup, and Bluetooth

Obviously, you can connect to the Satechi ST-SX200 AirBass Active Bluetooth Speakers via Bluetooth. In addition, there is a 3.5mm port labeled Audio 1 and stereo analog RCA inputs labeled Audio 2. A USB port is also located on the back but that is for charging only. Not for charging the speakers, mind you, but for charging your device. Lastly, there is a subwoofer output but there is no indication in the manual or elsewhere if there is any sort of crossover or if it just sends a full range signal to the sub.

Right speaker

The left speaker is connected to the right by a set of small, five-way binding posts. Satechi included some very thin speaker cable though there is no reason you couldn't use your own. I grabbed some of my standard speaker cable from Blue Jeans with the compression-type banana plugs and verified that the binding posts will accept them. This is a nice feature as it allows for the most diverse types of connections and the most secure connections.

While there are two audio inputs on the back of the Satechi ST-SX200, they are hierarchical. The 3.5mm input is the top level while the stereo RCA input is secondary. This means that if you have something plugged into the 3.5mm input, even if it isn't playing anything, the RCA input will be ignored. This gives you, functionally, two inputs - Bluetooth and one analog input. This may confuse some users at first. You may use all three inputs (Bluetooth and both analog) if you don't mind manually unplugging the 3.5mm input when you want to access the RCA input.

Back of the left speaker - note the five-way binding posts, unusual at this price point

The single dial on the front is to control the volume and input selection. The volume control is quite fine and isn't just from one side of the dial to the other. Instead, you can spin the dial a number of times before you get to the top level. There is nothing to stop the it so the dial will continue to spin though the volume will no longer increase. The same is true when decreasing the volume - it will continue spinning even though the volume is at zero. Conveniently, when you turn the other direction, the volume immediately increases and doesn't require that you reverse the number of turns.

Bluetooth

There are really two reasons to have Bluetooth speakers - either you want to take your music with you to share with others or you want to be able to connect to a set of speakers around your house without wires. Bluetooth is the main reason for these speakers so it must work well. If it doesn't, you could have saved your money and got regular speakers without the wireless connectivity.

The Satechi ST-SX200 speakers are perfectly set up to replace your computer speakers. They are small, they have one usable input on the back, and the Bluetooth allows you to connect your (or your friend's) phone or portable device without wires. This is, in my opinion, the best possible scenario for the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers. The reason for this is because the Bluetooth doesn't automatically reconnect.

Grille

Many Bluetooth solutions will constantly search for a former connection when disconnected. How many people do you know have disappeared from a phone call because they walked too close to a Bluetooth device? Everyone I know that has a Bluetooth receiver in their car has to take precautions for fear that the call will jump. Unfortunately, the Satechi ST-SX200 isn't like this.

On the plus side, the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers were very easy to connect to and the connection was very stable. Once I connected my device (computer or phone), I had no problems with dropouts or interference. Bluetooth promises 30 foot line-of-sight connection and the Satechi ST-SX200 provided as good a connection as I've experienced.

The binding posts may be thin but they accept full-sized banana plugs

The downside was that the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers would power off the Bluetooth connection after a period of inactivity. The light on the front of the right speaker would shine a solid blue when Bluetooth was connected, red in a low-power mode or when connected to one of the physical inputs, and blinking blue when searching for a Bluetooth connection. Putting the Satechi ST-SX200 into search mode was as easy has holding down the volume knob for a few seconds (a quick press switched between Bluetooth and physical input). This limits the places you can place the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers. If you want them to be a pseudo-zone 2 solution, you'll need to locate the right speakers somewhere where you can access the volume control so that you can put the speaker into Bluetooth searching mode when you want to connect your device.

Satechi ST-SX200 Sound Quality and Conclusion

I paired the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers with my phone and computer via Bluetooth and the Oppo DV-970HD via a wired connection. The first thing I was interested in knowing was the operation of the subwoofer output. I connected the Satechi ST-SX200 sub out to the input of the SVS PC12-NSD subwoofer. I played some very low (20-30Hz) test tones through the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers. The SVS rumbled the room but I could also feel the Satechi ST-SX200 driver trying to reproduce the sound as well. This indicated that there was no internal HPF crossover in the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers. For your sub, you can use the internal crossover to eliminate the high frequencies but you'll have no way to eliminate the low frequencies from the speakers. For the price of the speakers, this is not unexpected.

Machined aluminum dial

Next, I was interested in how low the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers could really play. I once again played some test tones including some sweeps. The Satechi ST-SX200 speakers didn't start reproducing audible sound until around 80-90Hz. Sweeps were fairly well represented though they faded out on the top end as well. If you took a look at the specifications of the Satechi ST-SX200, you'll notice full range for both Bluetooth and Aux inputs. That's just telling you that it will accept those frequencies over those inputs, not that it can reproduce them.

The lack of bass was apparent with songs like Junior B from yello and Crazy from Seal. The low sweep in Junior B sounded like a thump followed by nothing and there were whole bass notes missing from Crazy. In the context of a $99 speaker with Bluetooth, the bass response isn't all that surprising or even much of a knock. The subwoofer output, something we haven't seen on other, non-Bluetooth speakers costing much more, makes this almost a non-issue. If you are looking for tremendous bass out of a speaker that bills itself as "AirBass", you're going to be disappointed. Still, considering the size, the bass response isn't bad.

The top end of the frequency response range was rolled off but not unpleasant. Very high notes sounded plastic and shrill, but these were the exceptions and not the rule. The midrange was warm though "detailed" would not be a word I would use to describe the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers. These are speakers that you'll love to use to listen to music casually or as a background solution.

I felt that the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers performed best in a near-field configuration. I placed them on my computer desk and found that the imaging and soundstage was perfectly respectable if not mind-blowing. In a larger room, their 20 watts (we're guessing that's 10 watts per channel) could fill the space with sound, though even at maximum volume they weren't overly loud. As I turned the volume up, the bass and lower midrange became more pronounced, blurring the performance. As a background music solution in a large room, they were very good and I could see them in a living room or a kitchen. At a computer desk, however, is where they could really shine.

Conclusion

Are you looking for new computer speakers? The Satechi ST-SX200 AirBass Active Bluetooth speakers are a great solution. With a single usable input on the back (either 3.5mm or stereo RCA) and Bluetooth, you can connect your computer and stream from your phone or device. The Satechi ST-SX200 have a USB port for charging, a subwoofer output (a rarity on speakers of this size/price), and a very small form factor. With a few caveats, it is hard to find anything really wrong with the Satechi ST-SX200 speakers. At $99, they are a great value and we have no problems recommending them.

Satechi ST-SX200 AirBass Active Bluetooth speakers

MSRP $129.99 (sale for $99.99)

www.satechi.net

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Network Features/Performance
Ergonomics & Usability
Build Quality
Appearance
Treble Extension
Treble Smoothness
Midrange Accuracy
Bass Extension
Bass Accuracy
Imaging
Soundstage
Dynamic Range
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value